Grand Jury Indicts 43 for Draft Evasion

A federal Grand Jury indicted 43 Massachusetts men Wednesday for violations of the Selective Service laws. A spokesman for the Massachusetts Selective Service headquarters said he expects more indictments to come.

The new action brings to 74 the number of indictments since October when the lull in Selective Service indictments ended.

Col. Remo Gandin, acting operations manager for the Massachusetts Selective Service headquarters, said the new cases signify "no change in policy." "I would expect that there will be other indictments," he added.

The indictments came only two days after it became known that Massachusetts Selective Service Director John C. Carr was under fire from national headquarters for not being active enough in seeking indictments.

Col. Gandin attributed the recent upsurge in indictments to the backlog in cases caused by the change of personnel in the U.S. Attorney's office two years ago. "When you get a change in national administration, you get a change in personnel and you get a backlog," said Gandin. This backlog takes time to clear up, he added, since "you don't present cases and get them cleared up in three days."

The new indictments charge 18 with refusal to submit to induction, 14 with failure to report for induction, nine with failure to perform alternate service, and two with leaving alternate service before the end of their two year term of service.

The parents of one indicted man, who refused to be identified, said they supported their son "wholeheartedly." "The war is immoral and the Nixon administration is deceitful to the public... For most people, it's profits as usual. The only people who are bitter are the people who have relatives involved," they added.

They suggested that the indictments are an effort of the Nixon administration to "punish" Massachusetts for the Shea bill which exempted Massachusetts servicemen from duty in Vietnam. The Supreme Court refused to hear the Massachusetts case.